The thought of her stuck outside with no shelter sat hard on his chest. Add an infant into the equation and the boulder on his chest dug in deeper. Mud kicked up, splattering on the windows. The windshield wipers couldn’t keep up with the barrage.
It had been a long time since he’d been on this road. Muscle memory kicked in as he gripped the steering wheel with both hands. He should be coming up on the spot he believed Carys to be stranded.
Stranded and in trouble—a dangerous combination.
LIGHTING SHOT ACROSSthe sky. Carys strained to get a good look out the driver’s-side window. A figure, dressed in all black with a hoodie over their head, stood tall. Arms raised, Carys couldn’t tell what the person was holding, but it seemed obvious what they were about to do.
An object landed with a thud against the pane. A crack?
The phone had slipped from Carys’s hand while she’d been trying to maneuver the child back into the carrier. She muttered a curse as she felt around on the floorboard for the device while keeping one hand on Rue. She calmed with physical contact and a binky. Since Carys had no way to heat a bottle and no idea if the baby could drink formula cold, she needed to do whatever she could to keep the child calm until she could be turned over to her father.
Another thud snapped her back to the person trying to break into the vehicle. Carys had never felt more defenseless in her life.If it was just her, she could slip out the passenger-side door and run for her life. She might not be considered tall, but she could run. Running was one of the extra curriculars that got her out of the house at five o’clock in the morning during the school year when home had become a prison.
Headlights bounced up and down. The hooded figure ran off and disappeared.
A Jeep roared up next to her vehicle. A substantial male immediately jumped out of the driver’s side. This had to be Blaize. For one, he came from the correct direction. Who else would be out here in this mess? The man made a beeline toward her.
Carys unlocked the door as the baby stirred.
He opened it but didn’t make a move to get inside. After introducing himself, he said, “Let’s get you two moved into my Jeep.”
“Okay,” she said, setting the baby in the carrier before handing her over to Blaize. She glanced around as she unhooked the base. “But someone was trying to break into my vehicle, so be careful.”
“What the hell?” he asked as he took the carrier and then immediately got the baby inside the Jeep with Carys’s help. Next, he shielded Carys as she exited her sedan after clumsily grabbing her purse and locating her cell on the floor.
He stood next to her while she secured the base. She immediately climbed into the back seat after shouldering the diaper bag and grabbed the carrier once settled.
She scanned the area, but it was pitch black outside, way too dark to see anything. The occasional lightning bolt lit up the sky, but not long enough to see anything clearly. This area was rural, and trees lined the farm road.
“Thank you for coming out in this,” she said to Blaize as he took the driver’s seat. She could only imagine what he must’vethought of her. She was supposed to take care of Rue, not place the little girl in harm’s way even further. “I should have stayed home to ride it out.”
He waved her off like it was nothing as he banked a U-turn back toward his ranch. “You were acting in the best interest of the kid.”
“Was I? Bringing her out in this?” She was still shaking from the encounter with the person intent on harming them. “Not to mention the person who…”
An involuntary shiver rocked her body.
“Speaking of that, did you get a description?” He had to raise his voice to speak over the thunder booms.
Rue spit out her binky and started crying.
“That might be the most pitiful sound I’ve ever heard in my life,” Blaize said, glancing at them through the rearview mirror.
He had the most interesting shade of blue-green eyes she’d ever seen. They were like staring into deep turquoise pools. After standing next to him, she knew he had to be at least six feet two inches, maybe a little more. He had a substantial build. Carys told herself she only noticed because of the threat of danger a few moments ago. On a basic, biological level, she needed to know he could protect her while she was vulnerable. Being with a baby had never made her feel more helpless. You couldn’t run from danger while finagling an infant in your arms. You couldn’t fight back. She felt defenseless.
Carys had a new understanding and a whole new respect for what mothers must go through on a daily basis. She didn’t mean in the physical danger sense because what had just happened was rare. Trying to protect something so tiny and fragile, despite the lung capacity, would be a full-time job.
The baby kept up the crying as they pulled beside a ranch-style farmhouse that looked severely in need of TLC. Part of her job was to evaluate environments and people. She’d been aCPS worker for the past two years. Enough time to get a feel for people and places within a few minutes of meeting them or entering their space.
Blaize over the phone caused a lot of alarm bells to sound. She gave him grace for the fact he was finding out that he was a father from a stranger—not exactly an ideal situation. He claimed there was no possible way he fathered Rue. She needed to have a conversation with him about that before leaving her with him.
But first. Quiet the baby. Then? Coffee.
“What can I do to help?” Blaize asked as he pulled the lever that made the driver’s seat go up so she could exit the Jeep.
“Take her,” she said, handing over the carrier once more. Carys climbed out of the back seat and rushed toward the back door a half step behind Blaize. He stopped a little too suddenly, causing her to walk right into his back—a very muscled, brick-wall-type back. “Sorry.”
If he noticed, he didn’t say a word. Instead, he opened the door for her and ushered her inside.
